by Mathilde B.B and Etienne L.B.  (Oct 15, 2003)

The European Union is the name given since the ratification of the Maastrich Treaty in 1993 to the  European Community.  So it’s an organisation of democatic European countries which decided to work together for peace and prosperity.

It was founded after the Second World War to avoid a new conflict between several very close countries. It’s Robert Schuman, France’s foreigner minister, who proposed this idea.

1951: First, France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg establish the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).

1957: Those countries found the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).

1968: They gather to form the European Community (EC).

1973: The United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland join the six founder members.

1981: Greece joins the EC.

1986: There are two new members: Spain and Portugal.

1992: European Community’s members and Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein agree to form the European Economic Area (EEA). This association establishes a single market and removes trade barriers among member countries.

1993: In Maastrich, after ratification by member states, the treaty on European Union goes into effect.

1995: Austria, Finland, Sweden join the European Union.

2002: The Euro becomes the official currency of twelve countries.

There are fifteen nations in the Union (the countries which are underlined adopted the Euro in 2002): Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

The European Union works thanks to five institutions:

- The European Parliament elected by the people of the Member States.

-The Council of the European Union representing the government of the Members States.

- The European Commission: driving force and executive body.

- The Court of Justice: eneuring compliance with the law.

- The Court of auditors: controlling sound and lawful management of the E.U. budget.

All E.U decisions and procedures are based on the Treaties, which are agreed upon by all E.U countries. Before E.U countries co-operated in trade and economy, but now the goals of the European Union are keeping with our everyday life, such as the rights of the citizen, enduring freedom, security and justice, job creation, regional development, environmental protection. All those subjects for everyone. The E.U defends the different traditions, languages of all member states. That’s why, for half a century, it has helped  raise living standards, built a single Europe-wide market, launched the single European currency, the Euro, and strengthened Europe’s voice in the world.

The European Union: soon 25 countries

Fifteen years after the fall of the Berlin wall, the European Union will count twenty-five countries which will enter the E.U: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus and Maltesy. Three years later, in 2007, the E.U will welcome Rumania and Bulgaria. This widening is an economical and political headache. To finance this, Brussels has decided that the fifteen coutries of the present Union will pay forty billion euros. Maybe, Turkey will integrate Europe, but now, a lot of people think that if Turkey integrates our Union, the life of a lot of European people will be changed: we must have confidence in the future of our community.

If you wish to react to this article, write to the editor.

First we find that your article is clear and exact. It's easy to understand, although it's written in English.

Secondly, the organization is pleasant, particularly the way to deal with the chronological events.

The map is well chosen, and big enough to see the information easily.

It's interesting and concise but nothing is left out.

Although it's a present day subject and we know a lot of things about the EU, it's necessary to explain it again because some points remain blurry, for example about the different organizations inside the EU.

Finally, we congratulate you because we know that it's difficult to write in good and correct English.
We hope we’ll do the same thing next year because this allows us to improve our English.

It's true, the European Union was created to avoid another conflict in Europe. But something is missing. In fact the USA was afraid of USSR. It was their ennemy. The USA wanted to create a union to face the block. That's why they favoured this union.

Gaëlle (LAT, Blois)